lzr»0 


DllObOtt"'. 

ill 


No.  72. 

THE 

SWEARER'S  PRAYER. 

OR, 

HIS    OATH    EXPLAINED. 


WHAT  !  a  swearer  pray  ?  Yes,  sweartr,  whether  tliou 
thinkest  so  or  not,  each  of  thine  oaths  is  a  prayer — 
an  appeal  to  the  hohr  and  almighty  God,  whose  name  thou 
darest  so  impiously  to  take  into  thy  lips. 

And  what  is  it,  thinkest  thou,  swearer,  that  thou  dost  call 
for,  when  the  awfnl  imprecations,  damn  and  damnation,  roll 
bo  frequently  from  thy  profane  tongue?  Tremble,  swearer, 
while  I  tell  thee!  Thy  prayer  contains  two  parts:  thou 
prayest,  First,  that  thou  mave.-t  be  deprived  of  eternal  hap- 
piness !  Secondly,  That  thou  maye.st  be  plunged  into  eter- 
nal misery. 

When,  therefore,  thou  callest  for  damnation,  dost  thou  not, 
in  effect,  say  as  follows  ? — "0  Cod!  thou  who  hast  power 
to  punish  me  in  hell  for  ever:  therefore,  let  not  one  of  my 
sins  be  forgiven  !  Let  every  oath  that  I  have  sworn,  every 
lie  that  I  have  told,  every  Sabbath  that  I  have  broken,  and 
all  the  sins  that  I  have  committed,  either  in  thought,  word, 
or  deed,  rise  up  injudgment  against  me,  and  eternally  con- 
demn me  !  Let  me  never  partake  of  thy  salvation  !  May 
my  soul  and  body  be  deprived  of  all  happiness,  both  in  this 
world  and  in  that  which  is  to  come  !  Let  me  never  see  thy 
face  with  comfort ;  never  enjoy  thy  favor  and  friendship  j  and 
let  me  never  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaver  !" 

This  is  the  first  part  of  thy  prayer.  Let  us  hear  the 
second. 

1  A  4 


2  THE   SWEARER  S   PllAYKR. 

'  0  God,  let  m9  not  only  be  shut  out  of  heaven,  but  also 
shut  up  in  hell !  May  all  the  members  of  my  body  be  tor- 
tured with  inconceivable  agony,  and  all  the  powers  of  my 
soul  tormented  with  horror  and  despair,  inexpressible  and 
eternal !  Pour  down  thy  hottest  auger ;  execute  all  thy 
wrath  and  curse  »pon  me  ;  arm  and  send  forth  all  thy  terrors 
against  me;  and  let  thy  fierce,  thy  fiery,  thy  fearful  indigna- 
tion rest  upon  me  !  Be  mine  eternal  enemy  and  plague,  and 
punish  and  torment  me  in  heli,  for  ever,  and  ever,  and 
ever !" 

Swearer.,  this  is  thy  prayer!  Oh  dreadful  imprecation ! 
Oh  horrible!  horrible!  most  horrible; !  Blaspheming  man! 
dost  thou  like  thy  petition  ?  Look  at  it.  Art  thou  sincere 
in  thy  prayer,  or  art  thou  mocking  thy  Maker  7  Dost  thou 
wish  for  damnation?  Art  thou  desirous  of  eternal  torment? 
If  so,  swear  on— .-swear  hard  The  more  oaths,  the  more  mis-* 
ery.  and,  perhaps,  the  sooner  thon  mayest  be  in  hell.  Art 
thou  shocked  at  this  language  ?  Does  it  harrow  up  thy  soul  ? 
Does  the  very  blood  run  cold  in  thy  veins?  Art  thou  con* 
vinced  of  the  evil  of  profane  swearing?  How  many  times 
hast  thou  blasphemed  the  God  of  heaven?  How  many  times 
hast  thou  asked  God  to  damn  thee  in  the  course  of  a  ^par, 
a  month,  a  day  ?  Nay,  how  many  times  in  a  single  hour  Last 
thou  called  for  damnation  ?  Art  thou  not  yet  in  hell  ?  Wonder, 
O  heavens,  and  be  astonished,  0  earth,  at  the  goodness  and 
Ion  '-suffering  of  that  God,  whoso  great  name  swearing  per- 
sons so  often  and  so  awfully  profane  !  Swearer,  be  thankful, 
oh  be  exceedingly  thankful,  that  God  has  not  answered  thy 
prayer — thy  tremendous  prayer  ! — that  his  mercy  and  pa- 
tience have  withholden  the  request  of  thy  polluted  lips  ! 
Never  let  him  hear  another  oath  from  thy  unhallowed  tongue  , 
lest  it  should  be  thy  last  expression  upon  earth,  and  thy 
swearing  prayer  should  be  answered,  Oh  let  thine  oaths  be 
turned  into  supplications  !  Repent,  and  turn  to  Jesus  who 
died  for  swearers,  as  well  as  lor  his  murderers.  And  then, 
oh  !  then,  (though  thou  mayest  have  sworn  as  many  oaths  as 
there  are  "stars  in  the  heavens,  and  sands  upon  tbe  sea- 
shore inunmerable.")  then  thou  shalt  find  to  thy  eternal  joy, 
that  there  is  love  enough  In  his  heart,  and  merit  sufficient  in 
his  blood,  to  pardon  thy  sins,  and  save  thy  soul  for  ever — 
Swearer,  canst  thou  ever  again  blaspheme  such  a  Goo"  and  Sa- 
Tiour  as  this  ?  Does  not  thy  conscience  cry,  "  God  forbid  !"  ? 
Even  so.     A  men  ! 


THE     PRAYER  ANSWERED, 

In    the  following,    among    multitudes   of  othef 
instances. 

IN*  November,  1786,  a  person  much  given  to  swearing,  be- 
ing disappointed  by  one  of  his  companions  not  returning  to 
the  public-house  as  soon  as  he  expected,  swore  he  would  ne- 
ver drink  with  him  again,  and  that  if  he  did,  it  should  be  his 
last.  Accordingly  that  day  was  his  last.  God  took  him  at 
his  word,  and  thus  called  him  into  eternity. 

In  November,  1787,  one  W — rs,  a  smith,  spending  the  eve- 
ning at  a  public-house  in  Leather-lane,  quarrelled  with  one  of 
his  companion*,  and,  while  swearing  one  of  the  most  horrid 
otths;  God  struck  him  instantaneously  dead,  with  an  oath 
on  his  lips,  upon  the  bench  where  he  was  sitting.  The  jury 
who  sat  upon  the  body,  after  hearing  all  the  circumstances  of 
the  case,  brought  in  their  verdict — that  W — rs  was  struck 
dead  as  a  judgment  from  God.  This  narration  was  given  by 
the  foreman  of  the  jury. 

Another  remarkable  judgment  overtook  a  person  living  in 
Brewer  street,  Soho,  who,  cursing  and  swearing  in  a  most 
dreadful  manner,  wai  struck  speechless,  and  died  the  same 
afternoon. 

T.  It.,  who  lived  in  the  parish  of  Sedgeley,  near  Wolver- 
hampton, having  lost  a  considerable  sum  at  cock-fighting,  to 
which  practice  he  was  notoriously  addicted,  swore,  in  a  most 
horrid  manner,  that  he  would  never  fight  another  cock,  fre- 
quency calling  upon  God  to  damn  his  soul  to  all  eternity  if  he 
did  :  and,  with  dreadful  imprecations,  wishing  the  devil  might 
fetch  him,  if  ever  he  made  another  bet. 

His  resolution,  thus  impiously  formed,  was,  for  awhile,  ob- 
served, but,  about  two  years  afterwards,  Sf»tan,  whose  willing 
servant  he  continued  to  be,  inspired  him  with  a  violent  desire 
to  attend  a  cocking  at  Wolverhampton;  and  he  complied  with 
the  temptation.  He  there  stood  up,  and  cried,  "I  bold  four 
to  three  on  such  a  cock."  "  Four  what?"  said  one  of  his  com- 
panions in  iniquity,    "Four  shillings,"    replied  he.    Upon 


THE   SWEARER  S   PRAYER. 


which  the  wager  was  confirmed,  and  he,  putting  his  hand  into 
his  pocket  for  the  money,  instantly  fell  a  ghastly  corpse  upon 
the  ground. 

"  Who  hath  hardened  himself  against  God,  and  prospered  ?" 
Job  ix.  4. 

"  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in 
vain;  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  his 
name  in  vain."  Exod.  xx.  7. 

"  Because  of  swearing  the  land  mourneth."     Jer.  xxiii.  10. 

", Every  one  that  sweareth  shall  be  cut  oif."     Zech.  v.  3. 

Dear  reader,  art  thou  a  swearer  ?  Oh,  take  this,  friendly 
warning ;  the  next  oath  may  be  thy  last ;  if  thy  prayer  is 
heard,  thy  soul  is  damned  forever. 


R  I  C  HM  O  N  D  ,        V  A  : 
PRESBYTERIAN    COMMITTEE    OF      PUBLICATION. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
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